Yet another 10 gallon question

[Somadis120]

I have been spending the last 2 hours research for ideas for my 10 gallon tank. But every sites I go to, people are saying that most fishes will not do well in a 10 gallon. Does anyone here owned a 10 gallon? If so please give me some advice on what kind of fish I should get and what kind of plants I should get. I would love to have live plant on my tank but I fear that it will out grow my small tank.

Also if you have picture of your tank please show it to me so I can get some ideas.

All comments are appriciated

 

[Gold]

I do not know what it is with people saying 10 gallons are useless, the possibilities can be endless if you are creative.

I would personally advice that you get a school of tetras, maybe 5 neon tetras would look fantastic. They are beautiful, small (roughly a inch in length), cheap/easy to come by and extremely easy to keep.
They will accommodate the middle and top of the tank mainly.

While for bottom dwellers, you could get maybe a few of the smaller cory catfish species. Maybe 3 Corydoras habrosus, or Corydoras pygmaeus. These only grow to a inch/inch and a half in length. These also stick together, they look fantastic foraging, and they help keep the substrate clean of any wasted fish food.

For plants, i always go for the easiest to keep: Java fern, java moss, anubias, and hornwort are just a few of very many easy to keep plants. And three pieces of advice, these plants do fine with less light compared to other plants, so they are ideal as light also encourages algae. Secondly i have always planted my tanks heavily towards the back and sides, most fish (especially the corys) like hiding places. And finally, if a plant gets to big, just trim it down carefully; plants will survive with losing a few leaves.

So all in all, I would personally suggest you get a sandy/small gravel substrate, a largish piece of bog wood, and plenty of plants. In addition to the tetras and cory cats.
While if you did not want the cory cats, shrimp are always a option. 3 or 4 ghost shrimp clean to tank pretty well, but not as good as the corys.
Good luck and have fun planning!

 

[Emg]

Somadis, there are plenty of things you can do with a 10....lol....Once you get into the larger tanks...it's sooo hard to imagine keeping fish in anything smaller than a 90...lol. Nothing wrong with that...wish I could...but some folks can't afford all that and don't have the room so have to settle for something smaller. Nothing wrong with that either !

Here's a few pics of a couple of my 10 gallon tanks...just to give you some ideas....

This is a divided betta tank. I made the dividers myself from plastic canvas and binder clips. It has live plants and a sponge filter on one end...penguin biowheel on the other and a few cave type decorations....also, some flourite under the stones for the plants...the plants are some crypts, water sprite and java moss....the lighting is an incandescent strip with screw in flourescent bulbs...20watts, 6700K in all....

This is a shell dweller tank I just set up recently. Neat fish these ! If you can find them I do recommend them. The neolamprologus Multis are a great little fish and you could have a nice little colony of them in a 10. Give them plenty of shells and they move them around and bury them...fun to watch fish. If you're interested in these, here's a site to check out... http://www.shelldwellers.com/ Take a look at the "shell dweller species" thread...some neat pics there.

This is my Black and White theme tank. It has guppies and a pair of panda cories. This tank is one of my favorites. Since taking this pic I've rearranged the plants so that the whites aren't all on one side..looks better now...lol

Anyway....there are plenty of fish you can have that will do quite well in a 10. Have fun setting this one up and picking the occupants ! Show us some pics !

 

[Holly9937]

Also, check out the members specs. page, they are all just pictures of people tank, that should give you some ideas.
I think you could also do a pair of dwarf gouramis (m/f), with a few of the dwarf corys. I think a few of the regular cory species would be ok too, as long as you avoid the emerald/green corys, they get huge!! Or you could do a few otos.

 

[mvigor]

If you click the link to my tanks you'll see that my son has 6 small cory catfish in his 10 gallon tank and that works out very well with only weekly maintenance.

 

[Larissa]

I have a pair of dwarf gouramies in my 10g. I'm planning to add two or three otos to the tank.

 

[sumthin fishy]

When people say the 10 gallons are too small, is usually in reference to fish that will get too big for it. There are plenty of smaller fish listed above that are fine for 10 gal. I have one with a few guppies, danios, and a couple smaller catfish. The dwarf corys or ottos (ottocinclus) are good ones for bottom strata. Guppies are nice because they are livebearers and will reproduce a whole bunch. The problem is you will definatly be in the fishstore and see some wonderful fish you just have to have, and later find out it will get 8-10 inches, you must resist the urge!!!
As for plants, I got a couple types of aquatic ferns that are doing quite well with simple incandessant lighting. If you have a problem with them growing too large(if you decide on live plants) you can go to the plant forrum and get tips on pruning specific to the kind of plants you choose.

Happy Fishkeeping!!!!

 

[fishinAZ]

My 10 gal has a betta, 4 cory cats and one snail. Fun tank to watch and take care of.

 

[hurdledude1298]

i have a 10 gallon with a pair of blue rams and otos! they r awesome

 

[moulieman]

Becareful this hobby is more addictive than crack!!!

I started with a 10 gal about 2 months ago and have purchased a 29 and a 55 since then. :help:


It is an awesome hobby though and helps me reduce stress. Fishies are very relaxing..